Post by helaku on Jan 13, 2010 21:17:06 GMT -5
Skelaghe - Adult Female Wolf
Helaku - Adult Male Wolf Deceased, Spirit of the Snow.
----
The brook in the dead of summer, normally live with the sounds of animals and the appealing scent of fresh water was as it always had been this time of year, but something was amiss. Where the heat of the season normally prevailed, an icy cold air emanated from the water today and the chirping of birds, insects had fallen to an absolute silence as if there were major changes in the world not yet spoken of. As the ages progressed, the mythical and fantastic slowly receeded from the lives of wolves, but every once in a while it could still be found. The brook and and its unusual coldness awaited someone, a certain wolf to tred its shores.
She felt a call to leave Ute land. Perhaps she is looking for Jage? Skelaghe doesn't really know, actually. She was just certain that it was important for her to follow the river northward, though, as she gets further north, she tells herself she will have to turn back around soon. She truly did not intend to leave her territory again for so long as she lives, and she does not want to venture too far away.
The brook before her grew colder still, and in the dead of summer the very surface of the moving waters were halted by a sheet of ice. Something was here, a presence warm despite the frigid cold the prevailed. It soon coated the ground, the shrubs, and the trees themselves. In fact, not only was it the cold of winter but snow from the canopy blanked the place ahead under icicles that clung to their branches. In the wind that came to lightly caress the wolf, a lone snowflake found itself whirling before her nose, a snowflake in the shape of Tobba.
Skelaghe is no stranger to odd experiences such as this. The last time, of course, ti was as though it was spring in the depth of winter. Now... As she spots the single snowflake, she stops walking in orer to simply watch the sun-shaped flake. Clearly, nothing she is seeing or feeling can be real, but that doesn't stop her from "believing" all of it.
The snowflake wafted away into some tree, leaving behind a wolf whom sat upon the ice as real as Skelaghe herself, a wolf whom she'd recognize in an instant. Helaku's demeanor had changed, no longer was it stoic and callous or even red eyed. It was the Helaku she had known prior to that, with his warm golden eyes and comforting smile. He bore upon his shoulder the Tobba, but also at its center the same blue moon the female had seen on a recent young wolf. In this afterlife, if that was what it was, his pelt had taken on a pure white that glowed in the sun. Was he real? His scent filled the air, the very same he kept muted since they had found each other again.
The sight of him, and not as he was at the end, angry and unfulfilled, but rather as he was when she was young, brings a piercing ache to Skelaghe's heart. She always did see him like that, in her mind. The differences always hurt her. She ought to be glad that, where he is now, he can be happier, right? But it is sorrow that takes her as, having not breathed since she first spotted him, she takes a small, slow step towards him.
Helaku also took a step as she did,coming off the ice and onto the snow where he apparently left...tracks...his apparition or form substantiated itself enough for this. The male sat in the snow, waiting for her to come closer to him, his gaze ever-inviting though he did not yet speak. If anyone had the right to speak first, it was her for all the things she suffered through. His tail even wagged behind him, and his ears stood on end.
She doesn't speak. She has yet to breath, and her throat seems to be tightening up, so she couldn't, even if she wanted to. What she /does/ do is run to Helaku. It takes only a couple bounds, but she could not wait long enough to walk through his form with dignity. Once there, she ducks her head, intending to press it against his chest. She holds nothing back, seemingly unprepared for him to be less than the full-bodied figure he seems to be. She could curse him for showing himself when she had begun to come to terms with his death, or else curse him for things he had done in his life, but all she wants is to take comfort from him being here.
Helaku had been determined in life, enough so that she could feel his solidness against her. Was he more than a ghost? Maybe he would explain, but for now he took her close as he wanted to when he still lived, and nestled close with his head over hers. Solid...or near it. Helaku was indeed warm to the touch but he felt as if something was there in the air, but not entirely. Her inability to speak brought him to speak instead. "Everyone is here," he said, "The old pack, Sketch, even Forty-One. All creatures, enemies in life, are friends in death," he said. "I am sorry...Tobba's Rage kept me from being who I really am."
It could be a lie. It could be that she's hallucinating. She doen't care. She is silent for a while longer, as she finally takes a breath that is painful for how long she wasn't breathing, before choking out, "It was not your fault." Well, it may have been. He may have gotten his disease though warlike behaviours. He may have just as easily been innocent in contracting it, though. "You will be remembered well, Helaku. And you will be missed." The tears stinging at her eyes, the tightness in her voice, and the way she presses her head against him all prove the genuine nature of her emotions.
"I contracted it...a week before we met again," he whispered, tucking his own head as best he could, near wrapping himself about her. "A rabid badger that couldn't control himself." He never did give up loving her despite the things he heard, and how things fell apart. Though he had had other mates, not by his chosing due to laws, his heart had been set on her from the beginning. What he said about having eyed her even when the original Ute were living...was true. "But...there is something I must tell you...in addition to another." Helaku's eyes watered, even for a spirit.
"Must you?" Skelaghe may as well be the young girl who knew this Helaku, those many years ago. She has no desire to hear what he "must" tell her. Why can she not just enjoy this, for however long or short a period that it lasts? She rarely got to enjoy the time that they were together, in life. Can she not just have this one thing?
"At some point...but not until you say so," he whispered. Of course, old Helaku wouldn't force it on her the first moment he had as the raged Helaku would have. He sighed softly, closing his eyes to savor her presence for he knew it would be awhile before he could see her again. Not until her own passing. "I have time," he said, "for my deeds done for our birthpack, and abroad in the Redwood Barrens. I am become a Spirit of the Snow aside Tobba....I have time unlike most whom speak from beyond." He went silent then and dipped his muzzle against her neck, ears lowering in affection.
"If I had my way, I would never say so." Skelaghe whispers this to him, then simply breathes in his muted scent. Would she really allow herself to simply waste away here, Echo pining for the reflection of her Narcissus until naught but that whispered voice was left? In this moment, it is a nearly pleasant thought. Has she not done enough? Her children will live. Abel will find a mate in Maka, or else in someone else, and the pack will care for her pups until they can care for themselves. They will all live. She knows that can't be, though. As much as she would like to find her peace, this way, if no other way, it is not yet her time.
Helaku chuckled softly. "If you had your way, the entire universe would whine at your time-stopping power, my dear." Of course, she could go this way, and Helaku himself wanted it as much as she might, but he knew there were things she still had to tend...the youngest litter for one. "Abel...such a bright young wolf of ours," he whispered, lightly nipping her ear. "He will do fine when his time comes. And Ciqala too, I'm sure." Yes, talking about the pups in such a warming way. That was something he never got to do. Something he always wanted to.
Skelaghe listens to the figure of her mate, and feels his teeth as he nips lightly at her, but she barely moves anymore than is required to breathf ro several moments. Then, finally, she steps back, her eyes still moist as she does so. "You should know that it is your son who will lead this pack, when I can no longer do so. Abel. I offered it to him... and he accepted." And she will die before she sees the territory taken from her rightful heir. Her heir, and Helaku's.
Helaku openly grinned, looking back into her eyes. "I told Aquene...Abel is my choice as well, and Teketa in my place should he feel inclined until Abel becomes Alpha," he said. The ghost wolf nudged his broad nose under her maw and cutely peered up at her in an almost puplike fashion. "Always...one of Ute descent should have lead, else we'll lose ourselves and what our own ancestors held dear. We are Ute as long as the Alphas are of Ute way, even if it costs a whisker or two in puphood." How cute...a reference to his own puphood, when he accidently pulled a whisker from the old Alpha.
Skelaghe can be happy that her mate would approve of her choice for heir. Even if this is her own hallucination... Well, it has all been true to everything she knows of Helaku, so far, and so the flesh and blood shewolf nods. Nothing more. What else does she have to say? She can't be certain that Helaku has said anything he is actually here to say, but she knows that time is coming, and furthermore, she knows that, once he has said his piece, he will be gone, and she doesn't want that.
He closed his eyes and thought, and then looked at her softly. He knew his time was drawing to a close, though every once in a while in the winter, a stuble presence of him might appear to let her know that he is still watching. Nothing as grand as this, but still...watching. "My little Wanageeska...not exactly the best subject now," he said, tenderly. "Turn him around...open to him...and he will be as loyal to you as Abel." The ghost wolf raised his paw and lightly pressed it to his still-living mate's chest. "Culture shock. Call him Snow Eyes...and he'll flush everything he perceives about you now." He breathed, knowing that was probably not a good subject but...for the sake of Wan's future he had to. "This is not the final thing I've to say...that is...something for in a few moments."
His other son. The one that had to have been conceived after they formed Ute. What will Aquene think, when she hears about that? Well, if Aquene returns... If she hears of it at all... It won't be from Skelaghe. It's not Helaku's fault that Skelaghe could never give him what her wanted, and besides... Apparently, he was already infected with the disease, even way back then. What male wouldn't want to spread his line as far as possible in the little time he had left. Standing firm as she faces her mate, she says, "I will do my best with him, Helaku." No reason to give warnings, here. She will do whatever she can, just as Helaku tried to do with the pups Vincent sired.
"Thank you, dear," he whispered. "He is a little older than Abel, not by much. Eloone laws...I brought much of Tobba to them yet I had to follow them as laws prescribed to a leader." He seemed to..cringe..at that. It was a political mating. He shrugged it off and smiled at her, as he always smiled at everyone. "You age, but your age just makes you look even more beautiful than before. At times, you remind me of my mother. My father crooned over her too...and still does on this side." He snickered, winking at her.
It's easy to hear such things, now. He is dead, and Skelaghe can be certain that his love for her will not be leading anywhere. In life... "I have so much that I will have to atone for. I wish I could have given you the things you needed, Helaku." She always did. She had been coming back to tell him that he ought to find what he needed whereever he could, when... When the base nature of wolves, when misunderstanding and a lack of compassion, on his part as well as on the part of others, led to his departure.
"It is the same with me, Skelaghe," he said. "If the badger had not come tearing out of a log...for that was when I was bit..." He shook his head and quickly focused on happier things. "We will have plenty of time someday, but not yet. You still have much to live for...if there is anything I can tell you it is not to fear death like I did. The moment you breathe your last, you'll awaken here under a canopy of trees and lush plants." His cold nose touched hers and he stared endlessly into her eyes again. "It is...time for me to tell you that most-important thing before we part ways 'til we meet again."
As much as Skelaghe would like to refuse to hear what he has to say, just curl up beside him, she takes a very deep breath and looks at him stoically. She will hear what he has to say, and then, when the sight of him fades from her she will face the remainder of her days this bravely, on her own, or so she tells herself.
Helaku spent several moments watching her. It was clear he did not want to yet leave, but by the rules of the hereafter he could not remain in touch in such a blantant way for much longer. There were boundaries for if they were not heeded then all whom lived would not fear death and try themselves among the living. "For the protection of the Ute...of all packs with whom it can ally," he said, "Pass to Abel..and have him pass to whomever becomes his mate...and have him pass to his successor and henceforth...in the future, Ute may have to move. The humans grow in number. It will not be today, tomorrow...a month from now...or a year...but soon...within the next few generations that could very well start as early as the next with our grandpups...humans will expand and become more of a danger." A dire warning...but as he said, in the future. "The world is changing. They are slowly taking over." Helaku closed his eyes. In these dwindling moments he pressed himself up against Skelaghe and curled his head about her neck. "Normally...I would not be permitted to say as such..but Tobba...feels it."
Humans. Their building remains, to the north. They have returned once. Will they do so again, soon? "I will tell him. Not today, or tomorrow... But I will tell him." She would have, anyway. But maybe she needs to make it more of a priority. "Helaku." His name comes out as a whipser again. He must go. She knows he must. But not before one more touch?
A final touch until they met again...yes. Helaku closed his eyes and willingly touched her as much as he could muster. "Tobba and I will be with you 'til the day you are ready for us to come for you, Skelaghe," he whispered. The heat and scent from his apparition stayed until he slowly faded away. The air remained cold, but the snow and ice that once covered the land about her left a wet mess, as if something had fallen into the brook and splashed everything. Yet, there on the ground were Helaku's paw prints from where he had stood and sat. Maybe it was real. No one knew for sure.
He is gone. She feels it before she sees or smells it, as her eyes close as he rubbed against her. She's not even sure she wants to open her eyes to see it. Let her pretend that he is always there. And so, with the hint of his scent still in her nose, she turns to head back to the packlands, holding true to her internal word and holding her head high as she does so, though tears continue to sting at her eyes at the knowledge that she is truly, if temporarily, alone.
Helaku - Adult Male Wolf Deceased, Spirit of the Snow.
----
The brook in the dead of summer, normally live with the sounds of animals and the appealing scent of fresh water was as it always had been this time of year, but something was amiss. Where the heat of the season normally prevailed, an icy cold air emanated from the water today and the chirping of birds, insects had fallen to an absolute silence as if there were major changes in the world not yet spoken of. As the ages progressed, the mythical and fantastic slowly receeded from the lives of wolves, but every once in a while it could still be found. The brook and and its unusual coldness awaited someone, a certain wolf to tred its shores.
She felt a call to leave Ute land. Perhaps she is looking for Jage? Skelaghe doesn't really know, actually. She was just certain that it was important for her to follow the river northward, though, as she gets further north, she tells herself she will have to turn back around soon. She truly did not intend to leave her territory again for so long as she lives, and she does not want to venture too far away.
The brook before her grew colder still, and in the dead of summer the very surface of the moving waters were halted by a sheet of ice. Something was here, a presence warm despite the frigid cold the prevailed. It soon coated the ground, the shrubs, and the trees themselves. In fact, not only was it the cold of winter but snow from the canopy blanked the place ahead under icicles that clung to their branches. In the wind that came to lightly caress the wolf, a lone snowflake found itself whirling before her nose, a snowflake in the shape of Tobba.
Skelaghe is no stranger to odd experiences such as this. The last time, of course, ti was as though it was spring in the depth of winter. Now... As she spots the single snowflake, she stops walking in orer to simply watch the sun-shaped flake. Clearly, nothing she is seeing or feeling can be real, but that doesn't stop her from "believing" all of it.
The snowflake wafted away into some tree, leaving behind a wolf whom sat upon the ice as real as Skelaghe herself, a wolf whom she'd recognize in an instant. Helaku's demeanor had changed, no longer was it stoic and callous or even red eyed. It was the Helaku she had known prior to that, with his warm golden eyes and comforting smile. He bore upon his shoulder the Tobba, but also at its center the same blue moon the female had seen on a recent young wolf. In this afterlife, if that was what it was, his pelt had taken on a pure white that glowed in the sun. Was he real? His scent filled the air, the very same he kept muted since they had found each other again.
The sight of him, and not as he was at the end, angry and unfulfilled, but rather as he was when she was young, brings a piercing ache to Skelaghe's heart. She always did see him like that, in her mind. The differences always hurt her. She ought to be glad that, where he is now, he can be happier, right? But it is sorrow that takes her as, having not breathed since she first spotted him, she takes a small, slow step towards him.
Helaku also took a step as she did,coming off the ice and onto the snow where he apparently left...tracks...his apparition or form substantiated itself enough for this. The male sat in the snow, waiting for her to come closer to him, his gaze ever-inviting though he did not yet speak. If anyone had the right to speak first, it was her for all the things she suffered through. His tail even wagged behind him, and his ears stood on end.
She doesn't speak. She has yet to breath, and her throat seems to be tightening up, so she couldn't, even if she wanted to. What she /does/ do is run to Helaku. It takes only a couple bounds, but she could not wait long enough to walk through his form with dignity. Once there, she ducks her head, intending to press it against his chest. She holds nothing back, seemingly unprepared for him to be less than the full-bodied figure he seems to be. She could curse him for showing himself when she had begun to come to terms with his death, or else curse him for things he had done in his life, but all she wants is to take comfort from him being here.
Helaku had been determined in life, enough so that she could feel his solidness against her. Was he more than a ghost? Maybe he would explain, but for now he took her close as he wanted to when he still lived, and nestled close with his head over hers. Solid...or near it. Helaku was indeed warm to the touch but he felt as if something was there in the air, but not entirely. Her inability to speak brought him to speak instead. "Everyone is here," he said, "The old pack, Sketch, even Forty-One. All creatures, enemies in life, are friends in death," he said. "I am sorry...Tobba's Rage kept me from being who I really am."
It could be a lie. It could be that she's hallucinating. She doen't care. She is silent for a while longer, as she finally takes a breath that is painful for how long she wasn't breathing, before choking out, "It was not your fault." Well, it may have been. He may have gotten his disease though warlike behaviours. He may have just as easily been innocent in contracting it, though. "You will be remembered well, Helaku. And you will be missed." The tears stinging at her eyes, the tightness in her voice, and the way she presses her head against him all prove the genuine nature of her emotions.
"I contracted it...a week before we met again," he whispered, tucking his own head as best he could, near wrapping himself about her. "A rabid badger that couldn't control himself." He never did give up loving her despite the things he heard, and how things fell apart. Though he had had other mates, not by his chosing due to laws, his heart had been set on her from the beginning. What he said about having eyed her even when the original Ute were living...was true. "But...there is something I must tell you...in addition to another." Helaku's eyes watered, even for a spirit.
"Must you?" Skelaghe may as well be the young girl who knew this Helaku, those many years ago. She has no desire to hear what he "must" tell her. Why can she not just enjoy this, for however long or short a period that it lasts? She rarely got to enjoy the time that they were together, in life. Can she not just have this one thing?
"At some point...but not until you say so," he whispered. Of course, old Helaku wouldn't force it on her the first moment he had as the raged Helaku would have. He sighed softly, closing his eyes to savor her presence for he knew it would be awhile before he could see her again. Not until her own passing. "I have time," he said, "for my deeds done for our birthpack, and abroad in the Redwood Barrens. I am become a Spirit of the Snow aside Tobba....I have time unlike most whom speak from beyond." He went silent then and dipped his muzzle against her neck, ears lowering in affection.
"If I had my way, I would never say so." Skelaghe whispers this to him, then simply breathes in his muted scent. Would she really allow herself to simply waste away here, Echo pining for the reflection of her Narcissus until naught but that whispered voice was left? In this moment, it is a nearly pleasant thought. Has she not done enough? Her children will live. Abel will find a mate in Maka, or else in someone else, and the pack will care for her pups until they can care for themselves. They will all live. She knows that can't be, though. As much as she would like to find her peace, this way, if no other way, it is not yet her time.
Helaku chuckled softly. "If you had your way, the entire universe would whine at your time-stopping power, my dear." Of course, she could go this way, and Helaku himself wanted it as much as she might, but he knew there were things she still had to tend...the youngest litter for one. "Abel...such a bright young wolf of ours," he whispered, lightly nipping her ear. "He will do fine when his time comes. And Ciqala too, I'm sure." Yes, talking about the pups in such a warming way. That was something he never got to do. Something he always wanted to.
Skelaghe listens to the figure of her mate, and feels his teeth as he nips lightly at her, but she barely moves anymore than is required to breathf ro several moments. Then, finally, she steps back, her eyes still moist as she does so. "You should know that it is your son who will lead this pack, when I can no longer do so. Abel. I offered it to him... and he accepted." And she will die before she sees the territory taken from her rightful heir. Her heir, and Helaku's.
Helaku openly grinned, looking back into her eyes. "I told Aquene...Abel is my choice as well, and Teketa in my place should he feel inclined until Abel becomes Alpha," he said. The ghost wolf nudged his broad nose under her maw and cutely peered up at her in an almost puplike fashion. "Always...one of Ute descent should have lead, else we'll lose ourselves and what our own ancestors held dear. We are Ute as long as the Alphas are of Ute way, even if it costs a whisker or two in puphood." How cute...a reference to his own puphood, when he accidently pulled a whisker from the old Alpha.
Skelaghe can be happy that her mate would approve of her choice for heir. Even if this is her own hallucination... Well, it has all been true to everything she knows of Helaku, so far, and so the flesh and blood shewolf nods. Nothing more. What else does she have to say? She can't be certain that Helaku has said anything he is actually here to say, but she knows that time is coming, and furthermore, she knows that, once he has said his piece, he will be gone, and she doesn't want that.
He closed his eyes and thought, and then looked at her softly. He knew his time was drawing to a close, though every once in a while in the winter, a stuble presence of him might appear to let her know that he is still watching. Nothing as grand as this, but still...watching. "My little Wanageeska...not exactly the best subject now," he said, tenderly. "Turn him around...open to him...and he will be as loyal to you as Abel." The ghost wolf raised his paw and lightly pressed it to his still-living mate's chest. "Culture shock. Call him Snow Eyes...and he'll flush everything he perceives about you now." He breathed, knowing that was probably not a good subject but...for the sake of Wan's future he had to. "This is not the final thing I've to say...that is...something for in a few moments."
His other son. The one that had to have been conceived after they formed Ute. What will Aquene think, when she hears about that? Well, if Aquene returns... If she hears of it at all... It won't be from Skelaghe. It's not Helaku's fault that Skelaghe could never give him what her wanted, and besides... Apparently, he was already infected with the disease, even way back then. What male wouldn't want to spread his line as far as possible in the little time he had left. Standing firm as she faces her mate, she says, "I will do my best with him, Helaku." No reason to give warnings, here. She will do whatever she can, just as Helaku tried to do with the pups Vincent sired.
"Thank you, dear," he whispered. "He is a little older than Abel, not by much. Eloone laws...I brought much of Tobba to them yet I had to follow them as laws prescribed to a leader." He seemed to..cringe..at that. It was a political mating. He shrugged it off and smiled at her, as he always smiled at everyone. "You age, but your age just makes you look even more beautiful than before. At times, you remind me of my mother. My father crooned over her too...and still does on this side." He snickered, winking at her.
It's easy to hear such things, now. He is dead, and Skelaghe can be certain that his love for her will not be leading anywhere. In life... "I have so much that I will have to atone for. I wish I could have given you the things you needed, Helaku." She always did. She had been coming back to tell him that he ought to find what he needed whereever he could, when... When the base nature of wolves, when misunderstanding and a lack of compassion, on his part as well as on the part of others, led to his departure.
"It is the same with me, Skelaghe," he said. "If the badger had not come tearing out of a log...for that was when I was bit..." He shook his head and quickly focused on happier things. "We will have plenty of time someday, but not yet. You still have much to live for...if there is anything I can tell you it is not to fear death like I did. The moment you breathe your last, you'll awaken here under a canopy of trees and lush plants." His cold nose touched hers and he stared endlessly into her eyes again. "It is...time for me to tell you that most-important thing before we part ways 'til we meet again."
As much as Skelaghe would like to refuse to hear what he has to say, just curl up beside him, she takes a very deep breath and looks at him stoically. She will hear what he has to say, and then, when the sight of him fades from her she will face the remainder of her days this bravely, on her own, or so she tells herself.
Helaku spent several moments watching her. It was clear he did not want to yet leave, but by the rules of the hereafter he could not remain in touch in such a blantant way for much longer. There were boundaries for if they were not heeded then all whom lived would not fear death and try themselves among the living. "For the protection of the Ute...of all packs with whom it can ally," he said, "Pass to Abel..and have him pass to whomever becomes his mate...and have him pass to his successor and henceforth...in the future, Ute may have to move. The humans grow in number. It will not be today, tomorrow...a month from now...or a year...but soon...within the next few generations that could very well start as early as the next with our grandpups...humans will expand and become more of a danger." A dire warning...but as he said, in the future. "The world is changing. They are slowly taking over." Helaku closed his eyes. In these dwindling moments he pressed himself up against Skelaghe and curled his head about her neck. "Normally...I would not be permitted to say as such..but Tobba...feels it."
Humans. Their building remains, to the north. They have returned once. Will they do so again, soon? "I will tell him. Not today, or tomorrow... But I will tell him." She would have, anyway. But maybe she needs to make it more of a priority. "Helaku." His name comes out as a whipser again. He must go. She knows he must. But not before one more touch?
A final touch until they met again...yes. Helaku closed his eyes and willingly touched her as much as he could muster. "Tobba and I will be with you 'til the day you are ready for us to come for you, Skelaghe," he whispered. The heat and scent from his apparition stayed until he slowly faded away. The air remained cold, but the snow and ice that once covered the land about her left a wet mess, as if something had fallen into the brook and splashed everything. Yet, there on the ground were Helaku's paw prints from where he had stood and sat. Maybe it was real. No one knew for sure.
He is gone. She feels it before she sees or smells it, as her eyes close as he rubbed against her. She's not even sure she wants to open her eyes to see it. Let her pretend that he is always there. And so, with the hint of his scent still in her nose, she turns to head back to the packlands, holding true to her internal word and holding her head high as she does so, though tears continue to sting at her eyes at the knowledge that she is truly, if temporarily, alone.